Sheepdog

Welcome, neighbor! If I may ask, where are you going to be shooting skeet?

I've got a Blackhawk Serpa for my XD45, and it works great. With an untucked shirt or jacket, I am able to carry concealed without printing--but then again, I've got wide shoulders and a narrow waist. I like the retention system. It holds the gun securely, but is very intuitive to operate, adding zero time to my draw. I do have to say, however, that as durable as it is, I've managed to break it. I fell, and my 275 pounds landed squarely on it. The part that broke was the paddle attachment, which I simply replaced with the belt slide attachment. The part that actually holds the gun was undamaged--which really impressed me because it was empty at the time (I was on a playground in TN--carry off limits).

I have to wonder if that's the first case of a camera being shot in TN, or if he's just the first guy to get caught. There is no question that what this guy did was wrong--but only because he put other people in serious danger. Quite frankly, I've been waiting for pictures like these, but of American cameras, to start collecting on some internet site. That such pictures have not been forthcoming makes me wonder if Americans have truly lost the spirit of liberty and if, like the Brits, we might only start resisting a "Big Brother" society after it is too late to make a significant difference.

Well, because I admit it. Just got back from taking my kids to a restaurant that served beer. I was carrying, and even had a beer myself. It doesn't bother me, either. The option I choose is to ignore the law, based on the facts that it is an unjust law, a victimless crime, and I can probably get away with it. This doesn't mean, however, that I could care less about that law. On the contrary, I care about it very much--and I would like to see it repealed.

You're a girl, so it should be really easy for you to find a gun that fits you. There are probably plenty of us guys who would be more than willing to provide a variety of suitable guns for you to try. Just name a range, and a date, and if there are any TGO gentlemen in the area, some of them will probably show up. We'd probably even provide the ammo.

From a legal perspective, what this guy did was dumb. Can't argue with that. Not his property, NOT covered by the "castle doctrine," went out to confront the burglars despite being warned not to by the 911 dispatcher, didn't even know the neighbors whose house was being robbed...all of this will put him on very dangerous legal ground, should he be indicted. However, what this guy did is RIGHT, from a moral perspective. God grant more of us the courage to choose to do the right thing when faced with more legally expedient options.

As someone who has to provide care for many of these non-English-speaking, non-paying, non-legal residents who come here to mooch off of our system and abuse our hospitality, I think this issue ought to come up again, and again, and again until American's aren't just sick of it, but pissed off enough to do something about it.

"Vigilante" has such a...negative connotation. Can't we just call this guy a "good neighbor"?

I did this to my Springfield Armory XD45. I used blue Testor's enamel paint. It was a royal pain to get it to stay in the shallow engraving on the slide, requiring numerous coats and a lot of patience, but I think it turned out well.

Here's a suggestion regarding the purchase of Trijicons, or any other brand of tritium sight. Try to buy the rear sight in a different color. The front sights are almost invariably green. If you get green rear sights, too, you might focus on the wrong green dot when pointing your pistol in the dark. Personally, I prefer orange rear sights (which I have on my Glock 19), but yellow (on an XD45) also works well for me. If you buy from MMC Sights, they also offer red or blue rear dots. (I've never seen these colors in tritium sights before, nor have I used MMC's products--any reviews would be appreciated). One other option is to go with different shapes--typically, a bar, either horizontal or vertical. I've used the XS Sight Systems 24/7 Big Dot, which is a green tritium front sight surrounded by a largish white dot, and a rear sight that is a shallow "V", with a white-outlined green tritium bar, standing vertically in the center. It is a very fast sighting system, but not the best for long range shooting. Again, MMC also offers several rear-sight bar configurations.

I've got one of these bags. My only complaint is that it's still not big enough. I guess I'll have to pick up another one--especially at this price. Thanks for the heads up!

When they first came out, I picked up a Taurus PT-111. Took it to the range, and within 50 rounds, the extractor flew of the gun and was never found. Returned it to Taurus, they fixed the extractor, and I took it to the range again. This time, after about 50 rounds, the ejector broke. I had to send it back again, and promptly sold it when it was returned to me.

I'm kind of hoping the will be out in early 2008, and that I'll have a tax refund to pay for it.

Joint between tip and middle, or the middle of the finger, depending on the gun. I've been told that this is incorrect, but I've got big hands. The "correct" way results in either an oddly bent finger, or an off-center grip for me. I figure you should use the part of your finger that fits, then practice till you make it work for you.

I've been itching for a more powerful carry pistol recently, and was talking on another forum about converting my XD45 to 45 Super. While the general internet consensus is that the frame and slide assembly could handle the increased recoil and pressures, it's not really worth it. The velocity increase you'd see from a 5" barrel would only yield an additional 34% in muzzle energy (for a 230 gr bullet) over standard +P. As the .45 ACP is already a good manstopping round, the additional power would have only a marginally better effect. The negative tradeoffs would be decreased controllability, longer intervals between aimed shots, increased wear on the gun, shorter brass life (if you reload), and possibly, an increased risk of weapon malfunction, if your conversion is a WECSOG job and you also reload your own defensive ammo. I'm still wanting a carry auto more powerful than .45 ACP. For now, I'll just be content making some really hot loads. But here's hoping that Springfield Armory will show some initiative, and offer us an XD10 someday. Oh, and if I ever get a MechTech CCU, I'll definitely be loading up .45 Super. It doesn't specifically state that it's able to handle .45 Super, but if it can handle .460 Rowland, Super ought to be a piece of cake. Heck, maybe I'll just order one in .460...

Reloading has cost me more than it will ever save me. Sure, if all I'd bought was a press, dies, scale, and powder measure, I might have broken even by now--in terms of ammo costs, anyway. However, I've shot significantly more, which means I've spent more. I've also stocked up on bullets, brass and primers, which means another significant initial outlay. Oh, and then there was the new workbench, storage cabinet, 15-bin storage rack, and stool. Add in the optional equiment that I've bought (brass tumbler with media, hand priming tool, primer trays for each caliber I reload, calipers, bullet pulling tool, case length gauges and trimmers for each caliber, and multiple reloading trays for each caliber), and I've spent more than I dreamed I would at the start. Then there's all the equipment that I still want to get (progressive press, motorized case trimmer, case prep station, electronic powder dispenser and scale, chrony, Hammr...) In short, anyone who tells you that reloading WILL save you money is lying through their teeth. If they tell you that reloading CAN save you money, they're telling you a half-truth. If they tell you that you may end up spending money like a crack addict, obsessing over finding perfect loads like an obsessive-compulsive off his meds, and might enjoy going mad doing so, then that's full disclosure.

Hello, Everyone. Sheepdog, here. Hope you all don't mind the moniker. New member, old shooter from Chattanooga. Almost 37, married with kids, work in the medical industry. In those too-infrequent times when I can get out to shoot, you might see me out at Spring Creek or Prentice-Cooper, shooting an XD45. My first love (ballistically speaking) has long been handgunning, and I used to have a bunch of them. However, my decreasing interest in 9mm, combined with the responsibilities of marriage and fatherhood, has shrunken my collection considerably. On the other hand, I'm just now getting interested in riflery. I'm going to try to make it to Spring Creek this weekend to sight in and test my new TA31 ACOG, which is mounted on a Colt HBAR. I reload .45 ACP, .357 Magnum and .223. I'm still pretty new at it--I bought the RCBS kit less than a year ago--but I think I'm on my way to joining the ranks of handloading obsessives. My MidwayUSA wish list contains a Chrony, a Hammr, an RCBS Chargemaster combo, a Uniflow micrometer adjustment screw, a TrimMate and prep center, and I'm toying with the idea of buying a concrete mixer to tumble the brass I sweep off the range. Yes, my range kit contains a "tactical broom and dustbin," and if my wife knew how clean the range was when I left it, she'd make me do more around the house. Well, that's enough about me, I think. Hope I enjoy it here, and I'll meet you on the board.